Tasha Edwards, The Sweetest Vegan

My vegan journey started in the summer of 2009 when, after reading the book Skinny Bitch, I decided to give the vegan lifestyle a chance. I challenged myself to 30 days, succeeded, and lost 10 pounds. That 30 days, solidified my choice to live a vegan lifestyle, but it was not as easy to transition as the 30 days had made it seem.

I would relapse, start over, relapse, start over, relapse, sta . . . .you get the pattern. I had to think to myself, what keeps tripping me up? Fried chicken and dessert. I figured out quickly that it was not the chicken I loved, it was the deep fried – ness and the seasoning. I added a few more spices to my cupboard and bought a deep fryer, and ta-da, I was a vegetarian. Not healthy, but vegetarian. (Update: I loved the deep fryer but we have since parted ways).

Dessert was an entirely different monster. With its butter, milk, eggs, and heavy cream, I knew I would never be vegan if I could not conquer my vegan sweet tooth. One day, during one of my many sugar withdrawals, I mustered up the courage to experiment. I adapted my grandmother’s easy cobbler recipe by replacing the milk with soy milk. And, it worked . . . I wanted more.

I started looking for more recipes that I could make vegan and made my first vegan cheesecake. Then, I started searching for vegan cookbooks and bought what would become my Holy Grail, The Joy of Vegan Baking. With the help of Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, Google, trail and error, product taste test, and bakery reviews, I became The Sweetest Vegan – Vegan Dessert Connoisseur.

On August 2, 2010, I decided to apply my knowledge and love for vegan dessert to create a web show: The Sweetest Vegan. Although Video Blogger was never a result on my career quiz, I have found a future in my love of health, food, and digital media. My audience, The Sweet Vs, is now more than 60,000 strong and growing every day.

About TECHmunch…

TECHmunch is a series of conferences in cities across the U.S. designed to help food bloggers gain the hands-on digital media, marketing and business skills they need to make their blogs more personally and financially rewarding. Each conference features leading experts in a range of disciplines -- from digital publishing and search engine optimization to public relations and online advertising.
Created by BakeSpace.com Founder Babette Pepaj (@bakespace), who serves as its producer and host.